11.19.2015

Stop Multitasking. You'll Get More Work Done.

By Deborah Mitchell, entrepreneur.comCEO & Founder, Deborah Mitchell Media Associates
There never seem to be enough hours in the day to get our work done.
That's why many of us turn to multi-tasking, which represents our
best, noble attempt to accomplish multiple tasks. But it turns out that
multitasking may actually limit productivity and ultimately affect your
level, and your health. According to athlete and international and
TEDx speaker Katie Brauer,
"Higher productivity happens when you limit multitasking and stay
focused on completing a task at hand. Studies show that multitasking
makes you 40 percent less productive and increases stress levels."
While
acknowledging the difficulty of focusing, especially at work, Brauer
suggested that implementing a few simple steps in your workday can help
you focus and make a dramatic difference in your rate of work output.
That
got me thinking. So, I reached out to a few other entrepreneurs running
health-related businesses for their take on ways to stay more engaged
and productive during the business day.
One was business owner Danielle Dietz-LiVolsi,
founder and president of NuttZo, a natural foods company. Dietz-LiVolsi
told me that, for her, preparing for the start of the day is a great
time to get focused. You can get focused when you avoid doing certain
things first thing in the morning such as checking your cell phone, she
said.
"Do not check your phone or email when you first
wake up," Dietz-LiVolsi said. "Wait at least 60 minutes, so you are not
jumping right into a ‘reactive’ state of mind." She said that she
believes in easing into the day. She advises starting out by stretching,
drinking a glass of lemon water and meditating. "You’ll notice a
calmness and clarity while you do this,"she sad. "My favorite time is
right after the kids go to school.
"Next, start your morning by
creating a list of five people you need to email or call in the day.
Start your day by working on calling/emailing [those] five people. I
reach my top five on my list by 10 a.m. It’s my most productive time of
day."
Email also looms large for Carson Tate, author of Work Simply. He suggested
that we craft more efficient emails to be more productive. "If you ask
yourself ‘who, what, when, where and how’ before you send, you will
eliminate a lot of the back and forth," he told me. A focused email will
save time, Tate said, adding several tips for more productive email:

Who? Break
the email down into two sub-questions: Who needs to respond to, take
action on or make a decision about this information? Put that name(s) on
the "to" line. Then comes question two: Who needs to know this
information? Put that name(s) on the "cc" line.

Why?
Look back at the names on two lines. For each name, ask yourself, Why
is this person involved in the project? Why am I emailing him or her?
Why does he/she need to know? Why does this information matter? Why does
it matter to the broader organization?”

What?
Ask yourself a series of "what" questions to help shape the content of
your email: What is the purpose of the email? What are the main points
to be communicated in this email? What are the key facts? What
references or research data needs to be included? What must everyone
know? Do not hit the send button until you have included every piece of
detail required.

How? Ask yourself, How do I
want recipients to respond? Describe this explicitly in your email. If
there’s a deadline, say so. If you want an email response, say that. If
you need suggested dates for a meeting, names of possible project
participants, a list of questions or key ideas to be considered, or any
other specific input, describe it. Never assume that people will
understand what you want. Tell them as straightforwardly as possible.

Finally,
I turned to business owner Elisette Carlson, founder of Smack! Media,
which represents health companies. Carlson described a unique way to
reduce distraction in order to be more productive. "Pretend you’re on an
airplane. There are no distractions on a plane, and there’s a time
limit to get something done," she said. "I sometimes try to simulate
this environment in the office by putting my phone on 'do not disturb'
and going offline.
"Try it for 60 to 90 minutes and you’ll be
amazed at how much work you can get done," Carlson said, adding that she
sees value in shorter deadlines. "Cut calls in half: Do you really need
30 minutes to talk to your colleague or client? Prioritize and get to
the point. Try giving yourself half or a third of the time to finish
that presentation or story. If you’re not multitasking, you’ll get it
done."
These productivity tips share one thing in common: They
push individuals to be more organized, mentally. Yoga Six chief program
officer Katie Brauer believes that in order to achieve higher
productivity, it's important to clear or reduce mental clutter. "The
mind benefits from the combination of having structure and being clutter
free," Brauer said. "When it comes to raising your productivity level,
try working on projects with your email and sound alert turned off.
"Keep
a check list and schedule blocks of time for specific tasks."
Finally, Brauer suggested that a good first step to decluttering your
mind is to take time off, go outside, unplug from mobile devices and
be with family and friends.

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